The Marathon
by jarjarjinx
Summary: It's Christmas Break in Massachusetts, and Jeffrey visits Gardam Street. He introduces Skye to the glory that is Doctor Who, and hardcore marathon-ing ensues. Fluff and nonsense, with hints of Skyffrey. Takes place two years before The Penderwicks in Spring, when Skye and Jeffrey are fifteen.
1. Blink

Snow drifted down from the clouds, covering Gardam Street in a thick white blanket. Hanging down from gutters, icicles glistened like crystals. It was Christmas break in Massachusetts, and Jeffrey had come to visit. He had arrived three days earlier, and was staying for a glorious two and a half weeks. The joy of Christmas grew ten-fold when Jeffrey was around, and this was apparent in Batty's especially hyper behavior and Lydia's decreased fussing. Even Hound was more boisterous usual.

For three days straight, Jeffrey had frolicked in the snow with the little ones, building snowmen with Batty and Lydia and helping Ben in his snowball war. When Skye had emerged from the house to dominate the fight, Jeffrey had nailed her in the face with a snowball. She got revenge by organizing an ambush where Jane and Batty released a merciless torrent while Skye tackled him from behind and shoved his face into the frigid powder.

Now Jane was on frolicking duty and Jeffrey got a day off to recover. He watched everyone play through the window, thankful for the warm house. Skye, who was lounging in her galaxy pajama pants, sat in front of the TV, fixated on a space documentary. Jeffrey half-listened as the commentator droned on and on about science the boy did not understand. He drifted to the piano and played a few notes, but Skye yelled at him to shut up. Wanting attention, he sat down on the couch. After a few minutes of twiddling his thumbs, he started poking his best friend. She jabbed him in retaliation. When he continued she punched him, and he punched her back. They engaged in a furious battle that dissolved into tickling, and both fell on the floor, laughing so hard they did not realize the documentary had ended.

When Skye did notice, she glared at her friend. "Great. Thanks to you numbskull, I missed what Dr. Bryant had to say about the expanding—"

Jeffrey tickled her again to keep her from launching into a science lecture. She threw a hard punch, but the boy dodged it and stood up.

"I brought something better than boring documentaries," he said, disappearing into Batty's room.

"They aren't boring!" Skye hollered after him. Waiting for Jeffrey, she picked up the blankets and resumed her place on the couch. The boy returned soon afterward, holding a stack of DVDs and smiling, his green eyes sparkling with pleasure. He fanned the cases out so Skye could see the title.

" _Doctor Who_?" She raised a skeptical eyebrow. "Isn't that the British show with the flying telephone booth?"

"It's called a TARDIS, and you're going to love it," Jeffrey replied, feeding a disc into the DVD player. "Alec used to watch it when he was a kid, back before they did the reboot. Nobody watches the old ones anymore, but they were great." He smiled, remembering the weekends he and his father spent binging old and new _Doctor Who_.

Skye nodded, not caring. Just another dumb sci-fi show with cruddy effects.

Sitting down beside Skye, Jeffrey noticed her blatant disinterest and smirked. "Just wait." Like any _Doctor Who_ fan should when introducing someone to the series, Jeffrey started with the first Weeping Angel episode. He knew to hold off on season 1 until she was hooked.

And hooked she was. Though she grumbled at first, the blonde became more and more interested as the plot played out. By the time Sally discovered the secret in the DVDs, Skye was glued to the screen. With satisfaction, Jeffrey noticed she clutched her blanket when the angels attacked the TARDIS.

When the episode ended, she turned to Jeffrey, who looked at her expectantly.

"Well?" He asked, eyebrows raised.

Skye grinned mischievously. "We have some marathoning to do."


	2. Accidental Snuggling and Hot Chocolate

They blew through seasons one and two in four days, staying up 'til one in the morning and sometimes falling asleep on the couch. At five o'clock on one of these mornings Ben crept downstairs to ask Jeffrey if he wanted to see his new rocks, but decided against it when he noticed Skye asleep on his shoulder. He knew from previous experiences to _never_ wake up Skye. His brow furrowed. It was very odd to see his older sister asleep on someone's shoulder. After giving the sleeping teenagers a confused look, Ben crept back up the stairs to admire his rocks alone.

Skye awoke a few hours later, very befuddled. When she sat up and realized she had been sleeping on Jeffrey, she blanched and emitted a noise of disgust, which woke him up. After blinking the fog from his eyes, he noticed Skye's expression and figured out what had happened.

He burst out laughing and said, "Good morning, _honey_."

She groaned and glowered, too tired to punch him as hard as he deserved. Since he would not stop laughing, she shuffled into the kitchen, attracted by the smell of breakfast. Iantha was standing over the griddle, red hair pulled back into a messy bun. She had become a much better cook since she joined the Penderwicks.

"Good morning," she said. "Did you sleep comfortably?" She smiled slyly, flipping a pancake.

Skye moaned and turned to leave. Iantha laughed lightly.

"I'm teasing. Here, have some bacon." She handed Skye a piece as recompense for her joke. The blonde accepted the slice and returned to the living room, expecting to resume the marathon. She was perturbed to find Batty and Ben in front of the television, watching cartoons with Jeffrey.

"I let them have the TV for the next two days," The older boy informed her. "Don't get mad, we have plenty of time to finish the seasons I brought, and we have been hogging the TV."

Skye opened her mouth, but closed it when a frightening thought occurred. She did not know what day it was.

Perhaps she did need a break.

* * *

The two-day hiatus passed slowly, Skye counting down the hours until she could rejoin the Doctor on his adventures. She tried math equations and reading about black holes, but nothing quelled her impatientness. Her anxiety only grew worse as the clock's hands plodded on.

Finally nine o'clock came. After shooing the little ones to bed, Skye raced to the living room and had season three playing before Jeffrey returned from saying goodnight to Batty and Ben. To the blonde's dismay, the boy walked into the kitchen instead of joining her on the couch.

"What are you doing?" She griped, pausing the disc.

"Making hot chocolate. Churchie taught me how." He called.

With a loud harrumph, Skye stomped to the kitchen and crossed her arms in the doorframe. "We've been waiting forty-eight hours to return to the marathon, and you're stopping to make _hot chocolate_?"

"Yep," Jeffrey nodded, melting chocolate chips in a pot.

She glared at his back, and he completely ignored her. "You're just doing this to annoy me, aren't you?"

"Partially. I also want hot chocolate." Smirking, he added in milk and a brown powder Skye could not identify. "Don't worry, I'm making enough for you too."

The girl rolled her eyes, but was secretly looking forward to homemade hot cocoa. Anything made by Churchie was divine, and the smell coming from the stove was mouth-watering. Jeffrey stirred the mixture and turned to Skye, tucking his free hand into the pocket of his pajama pants.

"So who's your favorite character so far?" He asked.

"The tenth Doctor," Skye answered immediately. "You?"

"Rose," Jeffrey said, with a touch of fondness in his voice.

Skye snorted. "Please. She's useless."

The boy shrugged, returning to his concoction.

"Oh, good grief. You just like her because she's got big lips and nice hips." Skye's voice dripped with disdain.

Jeffrey laughed, unable to deny it. "I've always had a thing for blondes." Before his friend could process the comment, he handed the spoon to her so she could taste.

Skye's face reflected pain and pleasure. "Hotter than the sun, but fantastic." She said, gasping after swallowing the chocolate lava. Turns out the brown powder was cinnamon.

Grinning, Jeffrey turned off the stove and poured the steaming drink into two mugs. After plopping two giant marshmallows into each mug, he handed one to the fair-haired Penderwick and walked with her to the couch. They sat down and wrapped themselves in blankets, then Skye pressed play and they lost themselves in the world of _Doctor Who_.

* * *

Made some changes to formatting. Until next chapter! -jarjarjinx


	3. Christmas Eve

Due to family-related interruptions, they again had to abandon their marathon, this time for a week. Skye was obsessed with the show and wanted to spend every waking moment in front of the television, but Rosalind chastised her, saying that Christmas was time to spend with loved ones, not aliens. As much as Skye hated to, she agreed, eased up on the marathoning, and devoted herself to running about with Jane and Jeffrey and playing with the little ones. _Be social for one week_ , she thought _, and then you can return to binging_.

Internally she counted down the days, but Skye really did have fun with her family. Buying gifts was an entertaining adventure, especially when Jane found the fake weapons aisle in the toy store and challenged Jeffrey to a duel. The ferocity of their battle knocked over several boxes, making terrific noise and causing quite a mess. Skye could not hold back her laughter when a store attendant stumbled upon the chaos and nearly exploded. The two warriors apologized and started cleaning everything up.

"You know, in ancient times knights had squires to clean up their messes," said Jeffrey, loud enough to be heard by Skye in the next aisle over, trying to drop a hint that she should help.

"Great idea. Batty and Ben are within shouting distance," She replied.

On cue, the younger siblings came dashing into the aisle.

"We heard you from the other side of the store," Batty said.

Jane glanced at Batty, then to the foam dagger in her hand, and formed a plan to win the technically ongoing duel.

"Lady Batty of Camelot, destroy mine enemy, the wicked warlock Jeffrey Marvolo Riddle!" The writer tossed the knife to her sister, who miraculously caught it, understood, and tackled Jeffrey.

"I have slain you!" She proclaimed in victory.

Then Rosalind arrived, gave the older two _you-should-know-better-than-this_ looks, and they returned to damage control. Though it was Rosalind's job as the OAP to keep the younger siblings (and Jeffrey) out of trouble, she could not help but smile at their shenanigans.

There were many other amusing incidents that day, including Jeffrey being accidentally left behind in a music store, Ben knocking over a Christmas tree in a coffee bar, and Rosalind getting lost downtown. She ended up in a perpetual loop around a block of odd-looking shops that nobody knew existed, which included a tattoo parlor and an apothecary. Jane had fun explaining apothecaries to Batty, and the two ended up weaving a bloody tale of witch trials in ancient Massachusetts.

The Penderwick children (and Jeffrey) returned to Gardam Street that evening cold and burdened with shopping bags, but filled with the joy that comes with buying Christmas gifts. The house was bursting with holiday spirit, everyone talking and laughing, faces flushed from the icy wind. Some disappeared to wrap gifts or change into pajamas, others lingered by the fire or hovered around the kitchen. The smells of sugar cookies, burning wood, and pine blended together in the wonderful scent of Christmas. The fire cast a warm glow around the living room, crackling in harmony with Bing Crosby's "White Christmas." Batty had moved her record player to the living room and put on the Christmas album Jeffrey had given her when he arrived.

"This has some of my favorite Christmas songs of all time," He had said. "It's got Nat King Cole, Harry Connick Jr.—"

"Mariah Carey?" Batty asked dubiously, reading the setlist.

Jeffrey laughed. "Of course. The best of all." He grabbed a nearby hairbrush and dramatically sang the first few lines. Batty joined in, and they belted out 'All I Want for Christmas Is You' at the top of their lungs.

"Would you mongrels keep it down?" Skye burst in. "I can hear you from the roof."

They stopped for a moment, made eye contact, and attacked Skye with pillows. With no weapons of her own, she surrendered, running back to her room. Jeffrey and Batty collapsed with laughter.

Now when Mariah Carey's voice poured from the record player's speakers, the youngest sister yelled for Jeffrey, who came immediately, hairbrush in hand. Jane joined in too, enthusiastically off-key.

When the song ended, Mr. Penderwick ushered Batty to bed. "I am retiring as well," he announced. "so please, keep the raucous party to a dull roar."

They all said goodnight, and Jane returned upstairs to read. Skye and Jeffrey stood alone by the Christmas tree, watching the snow flurries outside.

"You want to watch _Doctor Who_?" Jeffrey offered.

Skye shook her head. "It's Christmas Eve. It can wait. You are staying 'til New Year's, right?"

He nodded. "And I wish I could stay longer."

"Me too," She nudged him gently. "I miss kicking your butt at soccer."

He nudged her back. "I think you mean getting _your_ butt kicked at soccer."

"You wish."

Comfortable silence filled the space between them. After a few minutes, Jeffrey yawned and shuffled off to his room.

"Merry Christmas, Skye."

"Merry Christmas, Jeffrey."

* * *

Merry Christmas, everyone! ~jarjarjinx


End file.
